Familiar Stranger
by Azure Euphoria
Summary: IMOQ/GU Crossover: After receiving a mysterious e-mail, Haseo find himself confronted by a player calling himself Sora. Pulling him into The World R:1 itself, he finds himself at a loss. A voice calls out to him to once more fulfill his role as "The Terror of Death". Exactly what role will he play in the events that unfold?


Summary: IMOQ/GU Crossover: After receiving a mysterious e-mail, Haseo find himself confronted by a player calling himself Sora. Pulling him into The World itself, a voice calls out to him to once more fulfill his role as The Terror of Death.

AN: The beginning of another crossover or perhaps the ending. Whether I continue this one depends completely on reader interest, as I already have another active fanfiction I'm working on. Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters nor the universe.

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Chapter 1: Differences Between People

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SUBJECT: (UNTITLED)

SENDER: %02# n*+

I beckon thee, come back to my side.

He will be waiting for you, at the place where it all began. Someone you know very well. Yet someone you don't know at all.

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Delta Hidden Forbidden Holyground: Hulle Granz Cathedral. It had already been a couple months since he'd return here.

It was a place that carried many memories for Haseo. They were bitter and sad memories, but there were happy ones as well. This was a place of "beginnings" and "endings". At least that was what he felt. Coming here again seemed almost nostalgic.

But he wasn't here to reminisce on the past. And he wasn't like Atoli who entered areas with no other reason then to sightsee. If he were here, it was for a purpose. By instinct, after reading the mysterious e-mail, he felt drawn to this area.

"Could Ovan be waiting here?" Haseo mused to himself as he pushed open the double doors of the cathedral. Light streamed out from the crack in the door. As his eyes adjusted to the light however, he saw nothing but the usual empty cathedral hall. No one was there to greet him. He sighed with disappointment. "Or… maybe not."

Walking forward, he could hear his every step echo in the empty hall. Every Lost Ground seemed to be strangely eerie in that aspect.

"Someone I know, yet someone I don't." Haseo stopped just before the empty altar, and looked up at the sunlight streaming through the windowpanes. "Who could it possibly be?"

"Indeed, just who could it be~?" A cheery voice echoed Haseo's words. Surprised, he turned to see to whom the voice belonged to and was met by another PC just inches in front of his face. His sudden appearance startled Haseo as he leant backwards against the altar's railing. The stranger laughed at the Terror of Death's reaction.

Haseo glared at the stranger, not happy to have been made a fool. He could have sworn that the area was empty when he entered. And he didn't hear anyone come in, let alone get this close to him without him noticing. "And who the hell are you?"

"Well now, that's just rude." The stranger's long green bangs framed his mischievous smile. Haseo immediately took notice of the peculiarity of the PC. Draped in a ragged cloak with red bandages wrapping his arms and head, he reminded Haseo of a nomad or drifter. "Isn't it common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking someone's name?"

"Sorry, but I'm not necessarily the best example for good netiquette." Haseo smirked back with a defiant look. "Though I'm guessing you aren't here to preach about good manners."

"Bing-o! Well said!" The stranger took some steps back, giving Haseo a bit more breathing room. "You can call me Sora. Does that ring any bells?"

As Haseo heard the name, he felt a sharp pain in his head. He gripped his head for a moment. For a second, he could faintly hear a familiar sound echo in his ears. "Hell, if I remember you." he muttered behind gritted teeth. Pushing past the stranger, Haseo began making his way back through the double doors.

"Come on now don't be like that. Let's be friends!" Sora continued to try soliciting his attention as he came up to Haseo's side again. "Hey hey, are you listening to me?"

"Not interested." Haseo tried brushing off the pest, turning his back towards Sora. He was preparing to leave, not wanting to be bothered by him anymore.

"Don't be so stingy." Sora chimed in, but his voice grew noticeably darker. "Aren't you curious? Now whom could that e-mail be possibly referring to?"

Haseo turned back slowly, looking at Sora skeptically. "How would you know about that?"

Knowing that he'd caught his attention, Sora now was completely incompliant as he teetered over back towards the altar. "Oh, so now you're interested? Well maybe I don't feel like telling anymore."

His antics grated on Haseo's patience. "Fine. What do you want? GP? A rare item?"

"The Key of Twilight!" Sora answered, bewildering Haseo further. He hopped over the altar railing, sitting on the pedestal that had once carried the missing statue of a goddess. Haseo knew that this was something that no normal PC could do. "Sounds interesting, right?"

"I've heard of it." Haseo shrugged his shoulders, pretending to play dumb as well. "Besides, you haven't even told me who or what you are."

"Now come on, don't play coy with me." Sora replied cheerily. "And besides, you _should_ know very well who I am! 'What' I am though is a different matter."

"I can't say that I know who the hell you are."

"Well, Mr. Terror of Death, I sure know a lot about you!" Sora stood tall atop the pedestal. "Come on. Think harder!"

The same ring from before began echoing in Haseo's ears. The slight throb in his head was starting to become a full headache banging in his skull. He had the feeling that there was something that he was forgetting. Recollections of memories that he didn't think belong to him began playing through his mind. "You're... Sora… and…"

"That's the ticket! Everything starting to make sense now?" Sora folded his arms, nodding to himself. "But I think it's time we get this show on the road."

Before Haseo's could sort through all his thoughts, he suddenly saw Sora lunge towards him. A blade extending from the hidden metal guard on his wrist was aimed directly for Haseo's neck. Reacting on a moment's notice, Haseo tumbled to the side, letting the blade hit air. Catching his breath, he composed himself enough to take out his dual guns, pointing it straight at the smiling figure. "Hey now, I haven't even done anything yet! Why so serious?"

"Just what the hell are you?" Haseo demanded again.

"It's too late to ask that question now, Ha-se-o~! I now know everything there is to know about you~" Sora's amused expression never left his face as he lunged once more. Haseo responded by shooting out rounds. Yet for some reason, none of the bullets seemed to connect. And stranger still was how Sora seemed to glide soundlessly across the floor that normally echoed every footstep. It was just like a ghost. He met Sora's katars with his own twin blades into a dead lock. Pushing against each other, they each returned to neutral grounds. "Besides, I believe you already know the answer now. Or, hmm… maybe I need to give you more of a nudge?"

Knowing of Sora's abnormal nature, Haseo tried to call out to Skeith. However no matter how much he tried willing it, his epitaph refused to manifest. "Why… can't I summon Skeith?" Cursing under his breath, he pulled out his broadsword; its motor coming to life as the blades generated sparks against the floor. As he saw Sora head for him once more, he brought it down with great force.

"Bamyon~! That's too slow to hit me!" Sora dodged the great sword with remarkable ease, countering the heavy blow with a slash hitting square against Haseo's side. And to his surprise, Ryou, the player behind the PC Haseo, could feel it vividly as he yelled out in pain. He struggled to pull out his scythe, swinging it in a large circular arc that forced Sora to retreat.

"This pain… is real?" Haseo gritted his teeth to hold back the pain. "This is just like with AIDA. But…" Looking at Sora's cloaked figure from this point of view reminded Haseo oddly of his first encounter with what he thought was "Tri-Edge." He felt the exact same helplessness from back then as well.

"You know… I very much hate this place." Sora commented absentmindedly, waving his hand nonchalantly to address the cathedral itself. His posture looked casual in contrast to Haseo's own battle ready stance. "It sickens me to be here any longer, so I hope you don't mind me ending this quick now~"

As if on queue, the cathedral began to quake underneath Haseo's feet as the chandeliers dangled dangerously above the two of them. The eight chains that hung above the altar rattled ominously before springing to life. It was all too late for him to realize the true danger he was in.

Haseo's eyes widened as Sora gestured for the eight snake-like chains to attack. Before he could prepare for the attack, the chains had bolted towards him at lightning speed. He dodged the first and second, and hit the third and fourth away with his scythe. The attack however left him open as he felt the fifth penetrate his left leg. He felt it vividly, yelling out in pain as the other chains pierced his other limbs, wrapping around him with a viper's grip. The pain was unbearable to the point he felt his consciousness beginning to fade.

"Quite a bind you're in, eh?" Sora laughed a bit at his own pun as he casually walked over to where Haseo was bound. "You know if it were me, I could have dodged it all. But hey, maybe I got rusty."

"D-Damn you… Just what the hell are you? An AIDA?" Haseo choked out the word.

"I told you already. You know exactly who I am, Ha-se-o." Sora chided him jokingly as he annunciated every syllable of his name.

Through the pain and his muddled mind, he tried to summon his epitaph. But no matter how hard he tried to bring it forth, he kept getting no response. "C-Come on… Skeith… why won't you come out?!"

In response, Sora had come just inches away from Haseo's face again as he gleefully responded, "Because. I'm. Right. Here~!"

Haseo felt Sora's blade dig deep into his chest. And though normally he'd have been greeted with a Game Over screen upon death, instead the window to The World through his M2D began to slowly fade into white noise. He felt his strength giving out as he slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing he could hear was Sora's voice again.

"Welcome to 'The World', Ha-se-o~!"

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When Haseo opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting on one of the benches in the Hulle Granz Cathedral. He shook his head, trying to remember straight what had occurred. Strange, did he fall asleep logged on? He felt the bench's rough wood texture under his hand. Felt. "What the…?"

The realization that he could feel things with his hands was enough to shock him awake. As he looked at his own hands, he noticed that his arms were covered in red bandages similar to Sora. Quickly springing up from the bench, he looked down at the reflective surface of the cathedral. He looked the same, though now a brown cloak and red bandages covered his PC. "How did I get here… and why…?"

This was a different feeling altogether compared to when he was stuck in the AIDA server. His head was still buzzing, trying to gather his bearings and sort through exactly what had happened. The first thing to come to mind was a name. "Sora… maybe Yata might know something about this…"

Taking in his surroundings again, he noticed one big difference in the cathedral hall. Looking at the altar, he saw the statue of a girl wrapped in chains. It had just now occurred to him exactly what this meant. "The statue of the goddess, Aura…Just where the hell am I?"

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AN: And done! What did you think? It's a pretty short chapter from what I usually write, but reviews are always appreciated.


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